Blood Magic
by GeekGirlNicole
Summary: Elena isn't willing to take no for an answer and takes off to find a way to bring Damon and Bonnie back. What she stumbles into is more than she bargained for. Damon/Elena, Post Season 5, multi chap. On hold for now...
1. Chapter 1

Author's Notes:

This is my first foray into writing for Vampire Diaries, so be kind. I'd love some reviews and encouragement. I've previously written for Supernatural and X-Files (waaay back in the day) :)  
No infringement intended. All recognizable characters belong to someone else ;)

Chapter 1

The grief in the clearing hung thick around them. The group seemed frozen, and for a moment Ric thought they really were. _Maybe none of them can move_, he thought, panicking-

But then Jeremy stumbled forward as if suddenly thawed, his legs heavy and awkward, feet dragging underneath him. He only made it a few steps closer to where Bonnie had been standing before giving up and falling to his knees.  
No one else moved. Like statues, no _tombstones_, scattered in a half circle around him as they all stare at the empty air. Waiting.

And then Elena _laughed_.

Unfrozen, all heads whipped toward her, varied looks of worry and shock and widened eyes.

Her laugh bubbled up, manic, scratching across the frayed nerves of the group like nails on a chalkboard. For just a second she looked genuinely happy, all big white teeth and bubbly mirth, but a glance to her eyes and he can see its wild and desperate and pure disbelief.

She reined the morbid giggle in quickly, horrified, and slapped both hands against her mouth as her face crumbled. The wild outburst turned to something else, a wail that Ric would be grateful to never hear from her again.

She shuffled forward and collapsed, more or less, onto Jeremy, hugging him close. The two held onto each other, desperate and silent as the graveyard the group has transformed into. They swayed lightly and Alaric wondered how two people could have earned so much pain and loss.

Mesmerized by their silent swaying, Ric realized that he is the only one still standing frozen. Caroline and Stefan are clinging to each other now, looking for all the world like the shoulder they're leaning on is all that's keeping them upright. Stefan's eyes are haunted, red-rimmed and lost. Tyler's stepped back, holding up the fence post he's found to lean against and staring at his bloody hand as if the answers hide somewhere within.

Caroline just stares, alternating from the two on the ground, to the empty spot near the tree where Bonnie was supposed to be standing. She looked confused, as if she's trying to piece together what just happened and coming up all question marks.

Somewhere in the confusion, Matt has joined them. He arrived breathless, and Alaric watched the silent headcount Matt takes, trying to decipher who made it and who is being grieved. Caroline watched him, too, her face beginning to crumble, and they both seemed to come to the conclusion at the same time.

"No-"

It's the first word to be spoken in, well _moments_ really, but it felt like hours. Matt's voice was loud in the grief-thick clearing. It shook everyone to a new level of understanding, of acceptance, that yes, this is real.

It happened and its real, and they're not coming back.

They're not coming back.

Alaric took a step back, knocked off his feet at the realization. He wanted to embrace the sadness and the sudden guilt that have settled in his stomach – his empty, ravenous, _ohmygodIneedblood_ stomach – but he cleared his throat instead and pulled his voice together.  
"We need to get out of here," he said, and his voice sounded like he gargled with rocks. The words drug across his throat and past his lips, dry and rough. He smelled blood on the air, a scent on the sudden gust of wind, but managed to keep from looking for the source.  
_I'm still a vampire. Okay then._

"Caroline, your mom was hurt in the explosion. She's OK," he reassured her quickly. "He… Damon stopped to help her, before... She was OK, banged up, but breathing, when we left."

Elena's head lifted at the mention of Damon, and Alaric watches her back tense up.

"Where is she? Are you sure-"

"You won't be able to get into Mystic Falls to check on her- not if the spell is still active."

"I'll go," Matt said, giving Caroline a nod. "Don't worry, Care, I'll get her."

"I'll help…" Tyler offers, trailing after Matt.

"My dad's cabin!" Caroline yelled after them. "Its outside Mystic Falls, we should go there. Regroup…" Her eyes travelled back to the empty space by the tree, and Ric can see her reluctance to leave. The pit in his stomach reminded him he felt the same way.

Leaving meant they were giving up.

Alaric bent down, putting a hand on Jeremy and Elena's shoulders. "We should go. Find a place to rest and –"

Elena stood, pulling a surprised Jeremy up with her. She turned quickly and wrapped her arms around Alaric, her grip strong enough to crush him, had he been human.

"I'm glad you made it back, Ric," she said, her voice was muffled against his chest.

He hugged her back, tears welling in his eyes. Glad to be back, but torn by guilt because of who wasn't here.

"I am, too, Elena." He pulled back, a hand on each of her shoulders, and looked her in the eye. "I am so sorry about Da-"

Elena shook free, nodding and swiping at her eyes with the back of her hand. She kept her eyes down, not wanting to see the pity and grief and loss staring back at her.

"Just… take care of Jeremy, ok?"  
She was gone, vanishing within the forest trees, before anyone could react.

XXXXXXX


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Notes: I hope to post once a week or sooner. I am writing ahead and all is plotted out to the end! Thanks to those who are following, too :)

Its been nice to get my writing groove back- its been too long since my last fix (supernatural). I'd love feedback!

* * *

It used to be one of her favorite things, as a human. She liked to run. Old, well-adjusted, pre- tragedy and death Elena liked the way jogging provided a mental clarity, the rhythmic pounding of her shoes against the road, the stretch and strain of her muscles.

When she became a vampire, it was different. Running was effortless, but the speed… It was equal parts freeing and terrifying and cathartic, running at vamp speed, watching everything flash past her too fast to identify. She'd run a lot the first few weeks of becoming a vampire. At first just learning how, but then doing it just to clear her head.

She had a mission, a purpose tonight, but even still the exhilaration was enough to keep her mind off of what she had left behind in the forest clearing.

So she ran, darting around tombstones at first, then trees, and then running parallel to the road as she searched.

There was really only one way they could go. Only one way they would go. Not back to Mystic Falls, so that helped to narrow it down. They would be slow, much slower than her. They would be weak.

She caught up to them just as they were climbing into their car. A quick dash of Luke's head against the car door was enough to drop him to the ground unconscious. Elena was at Liv's side an instant later, her hand around her throat, blocking her from speaking or casting spells of any kind.

Elena just watched, calmly choking her up against the car. Liv's eyes were bulging, terrified. She clawed at Elena's arm, drawing blood. Elena let her, barely feeling the droplets run down her forearm. She pressed her face closer to Liv, almost touching, and eased up just enough to allow a small breath.

"You stopped the spell."

A tear slipped down Liv's cheek, but she nodded frantically. She tried to speak.

"You stopped the spell, and we lost… people. I'm gonna let you breathe now, but if I hear chanting or spell work of any kind…" Elena let her voice drift off, the threat lingering. She eased her grip, but kept her hold on Liv.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she gasped, gulping in oxygen between apologies. "Bonnie knew, Elena. She knew she wasn't going to make it."

Unchecked rage coursed through Elena ever so briefly, but she pushed it down. Of course she knew, Elena thought. Sacrificing herself for everyone is exactly something Bonnie would do.

"_You_ knew, which makes you responsible now. And not just for Bonnie."

Liv's eyes widened, a shiver creeping its way up to her shoulders where Elena had her vice-like grip. The tear tracks and red eyes, the break in Elena's voice, were all enough clues to the name Elena couldn't say out loud. "Damon?"

"How do we get them back?"

Liv shook her head slowly, but her eyes were equal parts terrified and pitying. "We can't. Elena the other side is gone- they're gone."

Liv's body slammed up against the car, her head whipping back violently.

"Wrong answer, Liv. Let me rephrase: when I rip your brother's throat out and he bleeds to death in the middle of this road, how would you go about getting _him_ back?"

Tears slipped down Liv's face and her body sagged against the car. The spell had taken a lot of her strength and she'd spent the rest of her reserves running to the get away car. Elena's hold on her was all that was keeping her upright at the moment and she was too exhausted to put up her usual mask of bravado.

"Please don't do that, Elena. He's my brother. He would be gone- I wouldn't know any way to get him back this time. And our coven, our family, they would come after you-"

A wave of panic bubbled up in Elena. Liv was telling the truth and her fear for her brother was very real. She wasn't ready to accept that they were really gone, though. How many times had they beaten all the odds and saved someone they cared about?

Through the tears she hadn't realized she was shedding, Elena growled, "I'm willing to take the chance that you're lying."

She felt the blood rushing under her eyes and her teeth descend at the same time Liv's eyes widened and she tried to pull away. Elena leaned in, teeth piercing the soft flesh of Liv's neck and her blood flowing quickly- Vervain free.

"No Vervain?" she stated as she pulled away. "That's pretty careless." She locked eyes with Liv. "You aren't going to run away. You won't use magic against me or to try and escape. You are going to help me with whatever I ask and you are going to tell me how to save them. You _want_ to get Bonnie and Damon back."

She let her go and stepped back. Liv wiped at her eyes but looked resigned. "I really don't know how to get them back, Elena. But I'll help you."

Elena gave her a sad smile. "Let's get your brother and get going. I know where to go."

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Thanks for reading! More to come... Damon/Bonnie POV next!


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